


The Last Lunar Guardian

by ADashOfStarshine (ADashOfInsanity)



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Girls, Alternate Universe - Star Guardians (League of Legends), Blood and Injury, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:06:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26736334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ADashOfInsanity/pseuds/ADashOfStarshine
Summary: Looking for aid, the Star Guardians sought out their ancient allies, the reclusive Lunar Guardians. However, where the beautiful Lunar temple once stood now sits a ruin. A crater in the mountainside and one lonely man, bearing the mantle of his fallen sister. The Last Lunar Guardian.This is his story.(Aphelios Star Guardian AU)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	The Last Lunar Guardian

Aphelios was not a Lunar Guardian.

 _Tolerated_ was the best way to describe Aphelios’ relationship to the Lunar Guardians. If Alune hadn’t been so vital, they probably would have kicked him out of their temple years ago. However, the fact was that where Aphelios went, Alune went too, and they couldn’t bear to lose their seer. He had heard visiting guardians call the Lunar Guardians ‘hardcore’ or ‘a bit old-fashioned’. However, he and Alune had always been told that the perfect guardian was as disciplined as they were powerful, mindful as they were ingenious. That was why the Lunar Guardians had such an isolated base of operations – their trainees weren’t given the option of wandering into town or staying late at school to waste time. Far removed from the distractions of modern life, the Lunar Guardians were as perfect as the moon’s silver rays and just as vigilant over the night. Once the moon had chosen you, you left your regular life behind, with only brief glimpses of the world every time you were sent on missions. He knew of Lunar Guardians who purposefully exaggerated the time needed on their assignments just so they could experience the city below, or just sneak into an arcade. He and Alune had not seen the outside world since they had left it as children. Alune barely saw anywhere except their room and the tower she needed to be in for her missions as a Lunar Guardian. The place where she slept and the place where she worked- that was all.

Aphelios, however, was not a Lunar Guardian. He was extra security at best, and a persistent nuisance at worst. No sooner had they arrived at their new temple home, he would sneak into the Guardian’s training facilities with Alune’s gem and work out for hours on end. Without the moon’s blessing behind him, he would never match the guardians’ speed and finesse, and he certainly wouldn’t gain any magic. However, that didn’t stop him from trying. He poured through instructional guides and fanatically watched videos on hand-to-hand combat, self-defence, martial arts, fighting with improvised weapons and even marksmanship. The temple had a shooting range for their guardians to practice on. However, he had to ask the temple’s supplier to smuggle him in a gun – unable to magically create one of his own. The leaders of the temple considered him an idiot. Trying to match a Lunar Guardian with no inherent skill of his own. Alune herself was not a combat guardian. As their seer, she guided the Lunar Guardians in the field from her lofty sanctum in the temple’s highest tower. Her glimpses into the future gave them massive advantage over their foes. However, no one was expecting her to summon her Moonbeam Rifle and take to the rooftops. As her brother, they expected even less of him. He was Alune’s help. He fetched her drinks and snacks, pen and paper, even did her laundry and cooked her meals so she could concentrate on the task at hand. He earned his keep by being there to serve her every need. To obey her every request.

But what if she needed protecting?

The older Guardians had laughed at him when he suggested this. Aphelios didn’t think he was being unreasonable. Alune was immobile whilst she was using her Seer abilities. What if the temple was attacked whilst she was incapacitated? The Lunar Guardians told him he was stupid – that the temple could never fall when so many talented Lunar Guardians lived there. They suggested he go back to what he was here for – running errands for his more competent sister.

This only annoyed Aphelios. The moon may not have chosen him but he was a competent fighter. He beat up training dummies until his hands bled. He incapacitated animated scarecrow after animated scarecrow, striking, kicking, slamming and shooting until the training rooms were a complete mess of tattered fabric and straw. He ran laps around the temple, climbed the cliff faces surrounding the hidden base, filled his laundry basket with rocks and lifted them until his arms shook and his knees buckled. Without a tutor of his own to guide him, he often overdid it. He would stumble back his and Alune’s room bleeding and bruised. Sometimes a Lunar Guardian would come along and find him collapsed in the training room. After the inevitable scolding from his ‘betters’, he would be left to Alune to patch up. She never once dissuaded him from his quest to get stronger, understanding his pain at being excluded from the very culture they lived in. However, she did beg him to be more careful.

“I know why you do this Brother,” she told him as she bandaged his hands for the umpteenth time, “And I will never tell you to stop trying. But please, take better care of yourself. I don’t know how I could cope in this place without you.”

“I just want you to be safe and happy,” he whispered in reply, as she drew him into a hug. He put his arms around her and received a faceful of long silvery hair for his efforts. She laughed and swept back her hair for him.

“I am Phel, I am. This is important work we’re doing; we’re saving lives. Why wouldn’t I be happy?”

But the uncertainty in her eyes betrayed her. Their gazes met; each twin loathe to let go of the other. Aphelios knew that expression, the mournful look on his sister’s face. It was a sadness not what had happened, but for what had yet to pass.

“What is it?” he asked her, smoothing down the collar of her guardian dress that always seemed to want to stick up a jaunty angle.

“It’s nothing,” she said, with a slight shake of her head, “I’m just tired, it’s-“

“You saw something, didn’t you?” he interrupted softly, “Something bad.”

She nodded before crumpling into his arms, tears dripping down her cheeks.

“Alune?!”

Her chest was wracked with sobs as he held her tight. She clung to his t-shirt as tears dampened the white fabric of her uniform. All he could do was wrap his arms around her as she tried to regain control of herself.

“This temple…” she gasped, “I saw it in ruins Phel. Like something had torn the walls off the mountainside. There were no guardians left…. I knew, I just knew, that everyone was dead.”

What?! Alune’s predictions had never been wrong before. Sometimes they could be a little vague on the details, but they had never been mistaken. Dread was swiftly settling in his stomach like an iron weight. He was tempted to just pick her up and find their way out of the temple now, but… he didn’t have all the details yet.

“How?” he gasped.

“I don’t know,” Alune wept, “I didn’t see that. I just saw the aftermath. The towers were gone, the mountainside looked like it had been blasted open, most of the building was gone. The place had been ruined, it was barely recognisable.”

“Have you told the leaders about this?” he asked. She should have gone to them before telling him. If the temple was going to fall soon this would be the leader’s number one priority!

But she shook her head.

“Why not?” he asked, keeping his tone gentle even as the mounting shock and horror took hold. Why wouldn’t she tell them? Did she think the temple couldn’t be saved?

She swallowed heavily, attempting to wipe her tears on her moon-patterned gloves.

“Be-Because I saw one survivor,” she murmured, “Just one.”

From the look in her eyes, he could already tell who that one survivor was. He took a deep breath.

“You need to tell them,” he stated.

“No!” Alune cried, “No, Phel. You’ll know what they’ll do if I go tell them that everyone, all the Lunar Guardians, are going to die except for you. They’ve been looking to get rid of you since we arrived, I can’t, I can’t give them that excuse. They’ll say you doomed the temple. They’ll pin the coming disaster on you. They’ll throw you out or-or worse!”

They would sacrifice him in the hopes of changing the future. He’d known as soon as he’d realised he was the survivor. They had never wanted him in the first place, so removing his presence would be no big deal to them. Aphelios wasn’t a Lunar Guardian. They had made it clear time and time again that he didn’t belong here. His loss was an acceptable one. So, what if he was forced to leave the only home he had? Or, he swiftly realised, what did it matter if he suffered if Alune was going to live?

“We need to give the temple time to prepare,” he told her, “Disaster will come if I’m here or not, am I right?”

She nodded.

“Two months from now,” Alune replied, “Judging by the stars.”

“Then we have to tell them,” he concluded, “It doesn’t matter what happens to me. We can’t let everyone fall.”

Alune let out a little choking sob.

“It does matter,” she pleaded with him, “It matters to us Phel. It matters to me. You’re what makes this place bearable. You’re the only person I really see trapped in that tower all day. They only talk to me when I’m useful…Please, a life without you here wouldn’t be worth living.”

He would put his life on the line if it meant to save her. There was never any doubt about that. However, if she didn’t want him to put his life on the line. If doing so would make her unhappy… then he didn’t know what to do. Alune had to live, on that he was certain, but she also had to want to live.

“Then why don’t you tell them everything apart from the bit about the survivor?” Aphelios suggested.

“They’ll make me show them the vision,” Alune said, “That’s impossible.”

He wasn’t prepared to give up on her and she wasn’t prepared to give up on him. It was hardly a surprise, but it left them in dire straits when it came to protecting their home.

“But what do we do?” he asked, his voice high with fear, “If we don’t tell them, we’re dooming the temple to fall. We can’t-can’t just leave them to their fate!”

Alune shook her head, hair sticking to her tear-strewn cheeks. There was a moment of silence in which they both sat there on the hard stone floor, wondering what could possibly be done. As far as Aphelios could tell they would have to tell the leaders eventually. The longer they waited, the less time they had to prepare. Perhaps Alune could encourage them not to throw him out into the snow. Perhaps they could warn them in a letter and then leave? No, the Lunar Guardians would hunt them down. There was no way he could persuade her to let him sacrifice himself. Perhaps he just had to do it without her consent?

“We-we have to defend the temple ourselves,” Alune suddenly declared.

He stared at her.

“Against something that could destroy an entire mountainside?” he replied, “There’s only two of us, and you’re the only Lunar Guardian between us.”

“We wouldn’t be alone,” Alune said, continuing to wipe her eyes on her gloves, “We can call on another group of guardians for aid. They don’t care who or what you are. Between them and our temple, we’ll be a match for whatever comes our way!”

If an entire temple of Lunar Guardians weren’t enough, then was doubling their forces going to work? They should at least warn the extra guardians as to what Alune had seen – though she’d probably need to do that to get their help to begin with. He still wanted to tell the rest of the temple but this… this was the only plan they could agree on. The Lunar Guardians hadn’t received guests for many years, not since they were children, so perhaps intrigue alone would lure other guardians back in this direction. If the time came and it didn’t look like their allies could help, then he would tell the leaders. It was enough of a plan for now.

The following day, after a long mission, he joined Alune in her tower with her favourite green tea and some freshly made cookies. He’d stress-baked the afternoon away in anticipation of what was going to occur – an ominous cloud looming on the horizon whilst they kept the whole temple in the dark. They sat in her tower and wrote their first letter to the Star Guardians – the Lunar Guardians’ oldest allies. Unable to leave the temple, Alune would have to use the magical connection to the Star Guardians in the oldest parts of temple, - the remnants of a time when all guardians worked together. The edifices to the Solar Guardians had long crumbled due to the neglect. If they needed aid, it would have to be the Star Guardians

Alune sent the first letter whilst Aphelios trebled his training routine. He negotiated with their supplier from the city for a better rifle, body armour, as well as ammo for his handgun and the rifle, going as far as to steal temple treasures to barter for it all. He got increasingly more nervous with every day that passed as he waited for his new gear. After three days of receiving no reply from the Star Guardian, both twins started to get antsy. After a week, they were nearing panic.

“Maybe they just lost the first one?” Alune suggested, her voice squeaking with false cheer, “Let’s send them another.”

They did and they wrote URGENT in big red letters on the outside. They put it in the magic tube and sent it off with a sparkle and a charming ‘ding’ noise. Alune prodded the sending statue to make sure all its crystals and runes were still there. They were. They just had to hope the Star Guardians had a working statue on the other end.

After three weeks of no response from the Star Guardians, Aphelios was on the verge of telling the leaders about Alune’s vision. Alune was desperately clinging to the notion that they didn’t have to. That she couldn’t lose her brother. That there _was_ another way. However, Aphelios wasn’t going to put every life in this temple above his own. They sent a third letter by guardian-statue, and gave two letters to the city supplier to post when he got back down the mountain. Alune tried to find out if the Star Guardians had a phone number, or an email address, on the temple’s heavily-censored internet. Her searching turned out fruitless. They had to rely on the traditional methods used by the guardians and hope.

With less than a month until their doom, Aphelios couldn’t stand it anymore. He had tried to remain strong for Alune’s sake but this wasn’t working. They had heard nothing from the Star Guardians and situation was looking more dire with every passing day. So, he dressed in his smartest clothes (a button up shirt and jeans) and went looking for their leaders. He found them, thankfully together, in the temple’s dining room.

“What is it?”

No sooner had he appeared before them, then one of them snapped at him.

“I need to tell you about something important Miss,” he replied, with a small bow of deference to their leaders, “Alune has had a vision.”

“Why hasn’t she told us then?” snapped another. Aphelios winced. He wanted to tell them so badly, why were they making it so difficult?

“Because she’s too upset right now,” he managed, “She asked me to come tell you.”

“Well then, go tell her to pull herself together and come talk to us when she’s ready,” retorted another leader.

They weren’t going to listen to him. He just had to blurt it out.

“The temple is in danger!” he exclaimed, his voice rising a little above its usual murmur, “Alune predicts that in less than a month, a terrible evil will come and destroy us all!”

They stared at him for a moment, before glancing at each other. Aphelios waited, breathing hard from the suddenness of his own outburst. He hoped they might be thinking hard about what he’d just said, however all his hopes were suddenly dashed when one waved a dismissive hand at him.

“Stop prattling and go back to washing dishes, or whatever it is you do,” she told him, “Stop wasting our time!”

“But Alune saw it Miss,” he objected, “She saw the entire side of the mountain-“

“If _Alune_ saw it,” the first leader interrupted, “Then _Alune_ will tell us about it. _She_ is a Lunar Guardian and thus worthy to inform us within our halls. _You_ are not a Lunar Guardian. Be gone.”

Aphelios wanted to argue. Wanted to tell them how stupid they were all being. Wanted to scream at them they were making a huge mistake. However, he’d learned from an early age that protesting was useless. He’d just get made to do the entire temple’s laundry rather than just his and Alune’s. Then all the other Lunar Guardians would accuse him of being a pervert for touching their underwear and… he couldn’t go through that again. He went back to his and Alune’s room and lay on his bed, feeling thoroughly defeated. He’d tried. He’d tried and it hadn’t been enough. He was never enough, Not for this place. Not even worth an iota of respect from anyone here. No wonder he usually never bothered to talk. Look at all the good it had done when he was only trying to help! 

When Alune returned to their chamber, she sat on his bed and put his head in her lap, gently stroking his hair.

“What happened?” she asked.

“I tried to tell them,” Aphelios confessed, “I just wanted to save them…save them all. But the leaders, they hate me.”

She didn’t seem angry at him for attempting to inform the leaders. Instead, she looked rather resigned.

“That’s…that’s how I thought it would go,” she said, “They’re not going to believe anyone but me.”

“Please,” Aphelios begged her, “Please tell them. We can’t put ourselves above the entire temple. It’s not worth it. I’m not worth it.”

She began to tear up above him.

“Yes, you are,” she told him, “Yes you are, because you’re my brother, and the you’re one good thing in this entire world. And you survive.”

“And you don’t,” Aphelios replied, eyes stinging with unshed tears, “And all the Guardians who have saved dozens, if not hundreds, of lives… they don’t. We only have three weeks to prepare, please tell them.”

A tear fell onto his forehead, then another, then another.

“Why-why do you want to save them?” Alune wept, “After all they’ve done to you. After all they’ve done to us?”

He wasn’t sure how to answer that.

“As soon as the moon chose me, they controlled every aspects of our lives. How long has it been since we’ve seen normal people Phel? How long has it been since we’ve gone to a store, or a park, or a movie theatre? How long has it been since you’ve been around people who care about you?”

“I have you,” he reminded her.

“Other people!” she exclaimed, “Ever since I got these powers, I’ve been locked in a tiny tower and forced to watch helpless as my colleagues fight for their lives! They resent me for not doing more, for not giving better predictions when there is literally nothing more I can do. They call me soft for not going out onto the battlefield, refuse to respect me as a Guardian… And you, you’ve met nothing but hostility from everyone! Not only are you naturally talented and wonderful, you shouldn’t have to be to be treated like a moon-damned person!”

Aphelios stared up at her as her tears ran down his face – a replacement all those he was unable to shed. He’d become numb to all the abuse over the years, but she, clearly, had not.

“So,” he murmured, “You don’t want to save them?”

She looked away.

“Part of me doesn’t,” she confessed, “Part of me hates them. But the rest of me wants to uphold what the Guardians stand for, even if the actual people don’t.”

“I feel the same way.” It came out in barely a whisper, but somehow it was like a weight had been lifted off his chest, “I hate them…for how they treat us. But I believe in all the good that the Guardians do. Even if I’m not one…I respect their goals, their ability to save lives.”

“You’re more of a Guardian than any of those bitches.” Alune let out a shocked and watery giggle, as if she couldn’t believe her own language, “To be a Lunar Guardian is to be the night’s protector. To selflessly defend the defenceless, to love and care for all things however harshly the world might treat you. You’d be the perfect guardian Phel. I don’t understand why the moon can’t see that.”

He gave her a small smile as she wiped her tears off his face.

“Maybe the moon has a thing for silver hair,” he replied, “I’m just not her type.”

She cracked a smile at his attempt at humour. 

“Please,” Aphelios told her, “Let me be the selfless guardian you see in me. Tell them about your vision and I will go willingly. Let me sacrifice my place here. I’ll go down to the city and when the time comes, I’ll come back for you. Whether it’s to fight by your side, or get you out of there, we’ll have to see. I just can’t let everyone here die.”

She let out a heavy sigh.

“The Star Guardians aren’t coming,” she stated tremulously, “They don’t care. I-I have been watching the statue for weeks. I know our messages successfully got to their end. They just…haven’t replied. They don't care. They’re not coming.”

“Then we don’t have a choice,” Aphelios replied, “Please Alune. I’ll be fine. Please tell them.”

There was a long pause in which he gazed imploringly up at her. It would hurt to part from her. He knew that already. But the world needed the Lunar Guardians, and if he needed to go, then go he would.

“At least,” Alune’s voice cracked, “At least…let me help pack for your trip. The mountain is cold.”

They had no time to waste. Ruination was three weeks away and everyone had to survive. The Lunar Guardians must prepare for their battle, and Aphelios had to get away so they didn’t blame the whole thing on him. Alune packed him warm clothing, plenty of food and a thermos for his trip down the mountain. Aphelios packed his arms and armour in an unassuming duffle bag, along with the leftover money from selling the temple’s artifacts. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything as they parted by the temple’s back-gates. Alune kissed him on the forehead before zipping up his coat.

“I’ll see you soon Brother,” she promised.

He nodded and gave her one last hug.

Aphelios spent the next few weeks in a tiny ski resort near the base of the mountain. He had enough to book a room for a week or so and managed to gain employment in the resort’s bar to extend his stay. The glass-roofed building the bar was in gave him a perfect view up the mountain, towards where he knew the temple was hidden. He couldn’t believe so many people holidayed here with an entire temple full of guardians right above them, and that they’d all been kept completely unawares. After two weeks, he could barely stand still with nerves. He kept dropping glasses, making the bar owner ask whether he was ok. He replied he was fine and kept working, however his eyes were fixed on the mountain overhead. Alune hadn’t been able to contact him with how her explanation went. She no doubt would have been forbidden from talking to him, and the temple’s internet was so heavily censored so she could not reach him that way. Being apart from her was torture. He would roll over in bed and find only a blank stretch of all where another bed should be. He would start measuring out dinner ingredients for two before realising he was alone. Not even doing laundry was the same. He prayed to the moon above that this would be a temporary parting. If he believed in the Lunar Guardians, wouldn’t they prevail? Wasn’t that how it worked? He just had to believe. Oh, he felt sick.

The third week came and with it, quiet. The ski resort had very few guests, only just enough to remain open. Aphelios mostly fixed drinks for his colleagues as they stood about complaining. He considered asking for a sick day as his stomach turned. Alune’s predictions weren’t always perfect for the time, but if she’d been able to get an accurate look at the stars… It was soon. It was going to happen soon.

“Avalanche! Avalanche!”

Four days into the final week, a siren sounded from above. The ski resort was of course kitted out to survive avalanches, but it was by far the wrong season for them. Taking this as a sign that something was wrong up on the mountain, Aphelios abandoned the bar and sprinted to his room. Flinging off his apron, he donned his body armour, snow gear, goggles, and a pair of snow boots he’d stolen from the resort. He grabbed the bag with his guns in, and before anyone could stop him, he was at the cable-car, ready to ascend up the mountain. Indeed, snow was falling off mountain, but it wasn’t quite the devastating avalanche the sirens made it out to be. No, the tremors were definitely coming from inside the mountain. If he didn’t know better, he’d call it an earthquake. Aphelios knew better.

BOOM

A huge blast of coloured light suddenly shot out of the ground, mere feet away from where Aphelios stood. Snow and rocks were falling fast now, but shudders in the ground only made him march on harder. Years of running these slopes had hardened him into an easy conqueror of this terrain. He found the back-door to the temple, sliding away the false rock that served as a handle, just as an enormous rainbow of laser beams issued from the temple’s interior. Aphelios ditched the bag, slinging his rifle over his back, his handgun locked and loaded. He didn’t care to see how the other Lunar Guardians were faring. He was here for Alune and he knew exactly where she’d be in a time like this. He dodged falling debris, blasts of magic, even summoned monstrosities as he raced towards her tower. Dark figures, shrouded in purplish magic, could be seen darting through holes where walls once stood. If they came too close, he shot at them, taking down a couple that sought to bar access to a staircase. Emboldened by the fact they could be harmed by bullets, Aphelios fought on. The further he got into the thick of things, the more ammo he used. Shells flew as he found and dispatched cloaked figure after cloaked figure.

He found the bodies of two Lunar Guardians in what had once been a storage room. One of them had a hole in her chest. It looked the like the other had been trying to help her before being blasted in the back. The situation only got grimmer as he ascended another flight. He was forced to lower his weapon so not to get caught. The upper levels of the temple were swarming with these purple figures, all intent on killing any passers-by. The need for stealth made him climb up and around a bannister, hoping the thump of his heartbeat wouldn’t give him away to the patrolling monsters. He glimpsed a trio of Lunar Guardians fighting in the library, one of them having summoned a turret of bright green energy. Part of him wanted to help them. A much larger part needed to get to Alune now.

Panting for breath, he found her staircase just before the purple figures did. Taking the stairs two at a time, he leapt up to find the way ahead had been blocked by a shimmering silver barrier.

“Alune!” he cried, as loud as his voice would allow, “Alune, it’s me!”

“Phel!” came a distant cry. The silver shield faltered just long enough to allow him through and he continued to spring up the stairs.

When he reached the top, he saw that half the tower had been blown in. Alune was sat amidst a pile of rubble, her Lunar Guardian uniform torn and bloody. She was floating a foot off the ground, surrounded by silver energy as she tried to see everything at once, her eyes shining with magic.

“Alune, we have to get out of here!” he told her, “They’ve already found your stairs, but if we go now, we can fight them whilst their numbers are low.”

He brandished both guns.

Alune lowered herself to the floor, her eyes fading back to their usual hue.

“Phel,” she said softly, taking a wobbly step forwards, “Phel, the leaders, they were going to kill you.”

“That doesn’t matter now,” he said, “Come on, we’ve got to get to safety.”

She took another increasingly-wobbly step forwards. There was a wet splatter as something hit the floor.

“Alune!” He dropped his rifle as he she collapsed to the floor. He caught her just in time to see the heavy iron bolt puncturing her back.

“They…attacking…from the air,” Alune spluttered, blood now trickling from her mouth, “Even I...didn't see them coming.”

“Alune…” He cradled her to him, desperately thinking of something, anything he could do. Removing the bolt would just make things worse, but it had definitely punctured her internal organs, perhaps her lungs considering she was now coughing up so much blood. Deep down he knew nothing could be done, but he didn’t, he couldn’t, he refused to believe it.

“Phel,” Alune gasped, reaching up one bloody hand to touch his face, “Survive, for me?”

“Of course!” he choked, “But…but you’re not done yet. We can find a Guardian with healing powers we can…”

Gore trickled down her chin, staining the white collar of her dress crimson.

“No, Phel,” she whispered, “I knew…I knew…I wouldn’t make it. I’m just happy, I got to…. see you one last time.”

“Alune _no_.” For the first time in many years, he felt tears cascading down his cheeks.

“Don’t leave, please…” he begged, “I need you.”

“The world needs…a Lunar Guardian,” Alune breathed, her voice slowing along with the movements of her chest, “Phel…take…my circlet.”

“What?” he said, confusion barely breaking through his anguish, “Alune, I…”

“Take it Phel!” Her voice strengthened a little with the command, “Keep it. For me.”

He reached forward one trembling hand to gently pry the circlet from her hair. He looked between it and her, pushing back the need to sob.

“Wear it,” she instructed, “Please, brother.”

He slid it on, almost dropping the delicate golden piece with how hard his hands shook.

“I love you Brother,” Alune murmured, her voice losing all its power in an instant, “Never forget that.”

“I love you too,” Aphelios replied, “I’ll never…never…”

CRASH

The stairs behind them shook. Alune’s barrier was clearly gone as he suddenly heard many pairs of feet ascending the stairs.

“Go,” Alune murmured, “Climb down…I’ll do my best to…”

“I can’t leave you,” Aphelios told her, as if the notion was unthinkable, “I was there at the start. I’ll be there at the-the end.”

Alune smiled at him.

“You’re always there for me Br…”

Her voice faded to nothingness; her head lolled back in his arms. Her hand fell limp from his face. She…

She…

“Alune?” his voice was tiny now. He already knew the answer to his question. Silence. Silence if not for the trampling of footfalls up the stairs. Aphelios gently lowered to the ground, and closed her eyes. He could barely see from the blur of his own weeping but he knew what had to be done.

She was gone.

They had taken her from him.

They…they wouldn’t take her body.

They wouldn’t get any further than that staircase.

They weren’t going anywhere because he was going to slaughter every last one of them or die trying.

Feeling the weight of her circlet upon his head, he got to his feet, gun pointed at the doorway. He was dangerously low on ammunition, and using his rifle in such close quarters was hardly ideal. However, one less enemy was one more chance that a Lunar Guardian, somewhere, out there, would make it. And even if he wasn’t one, even if he fell today in the attempt, the world needed Lunar Guardians. He readied himself as purple cloaked figures started to appear up the stairs. They were led by a slightly larger purple figure with jingling silver mail. Minions, Aphelios thought, there was no way these things could have taken down so many Guardians. The ones he’d shot earlier were much bigger. He was about to fire on them when the minions stopped at the top of the stairs

The front most figure, the large one, appeared to squint up at him before saying in a voice that sounded like a squawk:

“That’s not a Lunar Guardian, that’s just some kid with guns. Back downstairs everyone, he’ll die soon enough.”

“Stop!”

Aphelios wasn’t sure what made him say it. Perhaps he had a death wish. Perhaps he’d had enough of a lifetime of being dismissed as useless by everyone around him. The head minion turned around to peer at him from under their hood.

“What do you want?” they croaked.

“I may not be a Lunar Guardian,” Aphelios stated, strength returning to his voice as he pointed his gun at the one who’d spoke.

“But I am _her_ Guardian. And you _will_ face me!”

The head minion looked at Alune and then back at him. Then they started laughing. As soon as their band of tiny minions saw their boss’ merriment, they too started cackling. Aphelios ground his teeth, his finger trembling above the trigger. He was _done_ being patronised! He was _done_ being looked down on. Alune had believed him and so would he!

“My name is Aphelios!” he exclaimed, “And in the name of the moon, you shall face my wrath!”

He fired.

A series of very strange things happened in short succession. Time itself seemed to slow as the bullet, one of his last bullets, left the gun. There was a vertical ripple in the air, like a stone being dropped onto the smooth surface of a pond, but…the pond was the wrong way around. Vertical rather than horizontal. The following ripple cascaded over both him and the minions, bringing the room into sharp relief as suddenly everything became brighter, more vivid, just overall…more, than it had been. Suddenly, a wind picked up in the room, scattering books and blowing Aphelios’ hair into his face. The minions held onto their cloaks as Aphelios found himself lifted off his feet and into the air, surrounded by a cyclone of glittering silver and purple energy. He wanted to scream, but the magic swiftly consumed him, tugging his body this way and that, as his body was puppeted by seemingly invisible strings. His snow-gear was rapidly being replaced by a form-fitting white outfit complete with purple detailing and an immense amount of gold trim. His gun shimmered in his hand and vanished, only to reappear as an enormous shining white laser pistol, floating by his left shoulder as in his now-vacant hand, a scythe suddenly flickered into being – turquoise blue and shining brightly. He felt Alune’s circlet shift on his head, the arms of the piece retracting and turning into a comb that dug into his fringe. Finally, just as the wind started to fade, he felt a small voice at the back of his mind:

_“The costume suits you Brother.”_

“Alune?” he gasped, able to see her body through the wind still whipping about him.

 _“Now, we are together, always,”_ Alune said, “ _And you are the Lunar Guardian you were always meant to be.”_

“How?”

 _“No time to explain,”_ Alune told him, “ _You must destroy these forces before they finish with this temple and move onto the city below.”_

Even when the wind stopped, he was still floating above the ground. The minions, who had once dismissed him as an unworthy opponent, were staring at him with their weapons drawn. He raised an eyebrow at them, noting how the hair in his face was definitely more purple than it had been earlier. As he readied his new blade, he locked his sights on the leader.

 _“Fly Aphelios,”_ Alune proclaimed, “ _And survive!”_

The minions were a fine red mist within seconds. Seemingly no longer bound by gravity, he took the battle to the air with his gun floating loyally behind him, just over his right shoulder. With Alune’s instruction, he went after the groups of minions surrounding the fortress, slicing through them and their airships and leaving them to tumble down the mountainside. Yet, he couldn’t help but notice the bigger, magic-wielding, human-shaped foes that were entering the temple now. There were no other Lunar Guardians in sight, especially not up here in the sky. The area was also now devoid of coloured light, enchanted summons, even the sounds of battle cries.

“ _We've reached the moment. The moment where my vision started. There is something I didn’t, I couldn't, tell you Brother,”_ said Alune in his head, “ _Something in my vision that broke my heart.”_

There was more? Aphelios shot down a flock of bat-like creatures with carefully aimed rounds, dread seeking to consume him once more.

 _“It was how I knew the others would try to get rid of you_ ,” Alune continued, “ _Because…you’re not just the last survivor. All our foes are now in the temple together so…if you…”_

She paused a moment as a second floating gun appeared to flank Aphelios like a pair of wings.

_“You’re not just the temple’s last survivor Phel. You’re…you’re the one who blew it up.”_

Aphelios wanted to look at her, say something to her, but she was a voice in his head. He wanted to know why she hadn’t told him this from the start. Why wait until the moment where he had to do the deed she’d predicted? Couldn’t she have at least let him think about it?

 _“No thought need guide your hand,”_ she replied, “ _All our enemies are in that building. We can exterminate them all in one blast, the bloodshed need not continue.”_

But there might be allies in there as well. Lunar Guardians fighting for survival!

 _“There aren’t,”_ Alune replied solemnly, “ _When you found me…I was scrying the entire temple. Anyone who was alive then, is now lost.”_

Was she sure? Was she sure he wasn’t going to be massacring Lunar Guardians by blasting the temple into oblivion with his new powers?

 _“We can wipe out the enemy once and for all!”_ Alune exclaimed, “ _Where do you think they’ll go next? The city? The other guardians? This is your chance to save countless lives Brother! You are a Lunar Guardian! The decisions are terrible yet, in your heart, you know how many you will protect!”_

That didn’t answer his questions, but she was right. He flew back, putting some distance in between himself and the hoards attacking the temple. He worried, deep down, that he was going to be the final blow, the murderer that brought down the Lunar Guardians. The ill omen they had always thought him to be. But this wasn’t about him. This wasn’t even about the Lunar Guardians anymore. It was about all the people this force could go on to kill. This was for the future. All the people who needed to be saved.

Palms together in front of his chest, he concentrated hard on the temple ahead of him. Focussing all his attention, all his will into one almighty blast. He had no idea how he was doing this but instinct seemed to guide his way. More long white guns began to appear, a great circle of glittering barrels forming behind him, all perfectly taking aim at the temple’s heart. He took a deep breath as the force of his magic whipped up the air around him as two dozen laser rifles charged up their beams, as silver as moonlight. If the invaders knew there was one Lunar Guardian left, they did not show it. Aphelios raised one hand, making a finger-gun at the temple.

_“Now!_

“Now!”

With a flick of his wrist, the guns blasted. An enormous silver ring of light shot past him, momentarily lighting him up from all angles with its radiance. It struck the temple and detonated with a BOOM so loud it made his teeth rattle in his mouth. If there hadn’t been an avalanche before, there certainly was now. Rock and snow descended from the heavens as if the entire mountain was coming down. Aphelios was forced to dodge and weave around boulders as he watched familiar pillars and balconies crumble away into nothingness. By the time the rockfall had slowed, and the dust had settled, there was nothing but a huge crater in the mountainside. An enormous hole where hundreds of years of Guardian history had once been.

 _“No more hatred. No more Lunar Guardians will be locked up here with nowhere to go,”_ Alune offered helpfully. However, Aphelios couldn’t help but scan the ruin for any sign of anyone…anyone he might have killed. However, his blast must have vaporised everything because not even the bodies of the enemies remained, or the plant life, or any of the furniture… It was just, a hole.

 _“It all came true, my vision, it's passed,”_ Alune concluded, “ _You, flying, a Lunar Guardian, and the temple gone. We did it. We reached that point.”_

That didn’t make him feel any better. Over a hundred Lunar Guardians … everyone in the temple, was gone except for them. The enemy had also been obliterated, but at what cost? Everything they had known since early childhood. Generations of knowledge, of history, of culture, gone. How much had he destroyed? How many innocent people had he just murdered? Now, there was just nothing, an overly-large cave in the mountainside.

 _“You should rest before your magic runs dry,”_ Alune told him, “ _You’ll stop flying if it does.”_

Alarm creeping past the melancholy, Aphelios landed in the crater of his own making. Suddenly feeling exhausted, he chose an outcropping of rock that might have once been a wall, and used it as shelter against the wind and snow. Somehow, despite the lack of Winter gear, he wasn’t cold. Were the clothes magical too? His arms were exposed, how wasn’t he freezing?

 _“Later, brother,”_ Alune said, “ _Rest first, then we can test the extend of your abilities.”_

Because there was no real food or shelter up there, Aphelios was forced to go back down the ski resort later that day. Remarkably, they didn’t fire him for running off into an avalanche, and were just glad he was alright. On the trip back down, Aphelios managed to switch back into his normal clothes so he didn’t return looking like a Guardian. However, even once he had some food in him and a bed to sleep on, he felt the full weight of what had just happened.

They’d failed.

They had two months to try and plan for this and it had gone exactly the way of Alune’s vision. The temple was gone. Alune had died, even if she was somehow still with him. There had been untold causalities and the Lunar Guardians were all…

“ _Not true, well, mostly true,_ ” Alune interrupted his line of thought, “ _We tried to fight fate, and lost, that’s true. But the Lunar Guardians aren’t gone Phel. They’re here, with us, in the power we channel and the hope we’ll give to other people. Well, after you’ve had a bit of training that is.”_

Aphelios continued to work and live in the ski resort. The owners didn’t seem to care that their youngest employee was constantly disappearing off into the mountain, often overnight, and come back with strange bruises. Then again, they never noticed him get impatient and simply fly up the mountain rather than taking the lift. He built a little camp in the crater for his training – making sure to keep the fire going as he trained through freezing nights. Alune drilled him on everything she had once learned in her guardian training. She put him through all the exercises she remembered on how the leaders used to determine who was good at what. They didn’t need the tests to know that Aphelios was good at long range combat, but finally after all these years, his unhealthy levels of training came in handy. Yet being a Lunar Guardian wasn’t just about hitting things well. It was a philosophy, a way of life. Aphelios found himself meditating under every full moon, listening to Alune giving him synopsis on ‘inner calm’ and ‘guardian dedication’. He knew a lot of this stuff from being around the temple, but he felt it was worth listening to again. This was the closest thing to formal training he’d ever get. He took her words to heart on that mountain top, and soon he was visiting the city like every guardian before him. He showed Alune everything they’d missed whilst rescuing cats from trees and stopping bank robberies by strange tentacled beings. When people saw him, they cried out for the traitorous Star Guardians. Believing him to be one of them, that the Star Guardians cared enough to actually save anyone. This case of mistaken identity irked him at first, but as he saw what good he was doing; he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Because Aphelios wasn’t _a_ Lunar Guardian.

He was _the_ Lunar Guardian.

And as the last one, he would honour their memory without complaint.

* * *

Six months after the Lunar Temple fell, Alune suggested they should go back to where the temple stood. Her skills as a seer had greatly diminished, but he still trusted her intuition without question. Besides, tonight was the full moon and he had to pay his dues to all they’d lost. Yet, as he settled into his meditative stance, he felt the air shift around him. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know who they were. Magic – he could feel it, so bright, colourful and clean, unfettered by loss. He was surrounded by the Star Guardians finally arriving in the ruins of his old home. Star Guardians, who immediately started to beg for the Lunar Guardians’ help with a foe they could not manage.

Well, thought Aphelios, to himself and the curious Alune. He did not open his eyes as he felt the Star Guardians shift anxiously around him, as if confused as to why there was but one man and a crater here. Aphelios took a deep breath before finally addressing them all:

“You’re late.”


End file.
